N.O. stands in for Beverly Hills in new film

Increasingly popular as a place for mostly anonymous location shoots thanks to the state's filmmaking tax incentives, New Orleans has been starring as the famously tony 90210 ZIP code for the past month during filming of the California-set teen romp "American Summer."

Shooting started in late April and is expected to wrap next week. After that, about a week of filming is scheduled in the real Beverly Hills.

The movie stars Matthew Lillard ("Scream," "Scooby-Doo") and Efren Ramirez ("Napoleon Dynamite") as a pool boy and a gardener, respectively, who team up to turn a vacant Beverly Hills home into a house of ill repute.

"Hilarity ensues," said executive producer Michael Arata, a New Orleanian, who characterized the film as "a fun teen comedy."

Though it's not technically part of the "American Pie" franchise, "American Summer" is being produced in part by Warren Zide, who was part of the production team for that hugely popular -- and risque -- film series.

Arata and Zide have also teamed up for the horror flick "Autopsy," starring Robert Patrick ("Terminator 2," "We Are Marshall") and being shot upstate in Jackson, La.

"American Summer" scenes have been shot on St. Charles Avenue, Old Metairie, Uptown and on Bamboo Road, with a massive staging area on Palmetto Street to lessen the impact on the neighborhood. Even a Bywater location was used for an interior scene.

Arata said filming has been going "magnificently." Local residents, he said, seem genuinely happy to have the film industry -- "any industry" -- rebounding after Hurricane Katrina. The largely West Coast cast and crew have noticed that enthusiasm, he said. They've also taken advantage of local entertainment offerings, such as the Zurich Classic golf tournament and the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival.

"We've been trying to give them this incredible, only-in-New-Orleans-type experience," Arata said.

Many locals are getting more than just a dose of civic pride from the project: The list of local actors in the cast includes Peter Gadd, Dane Rhodes and Tony Bentley.

Other notable names in the cast are Tom Arnold, George Takei ("Star Trek," "Heroes") and New Orleans native Jay Thomas.

A release date for "American Summer" has yet to be announced.

Read more details about the "American Summer" shoot Wednesday in The Times-Picayune Living section.